Family of hostage mistakenly slain by IDF decries promotion of commander involved in incident

The family of Yotam Haim — a hostage who was mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, alongside Samar Talalka and Alon Shamriz in December 2023 — is demanding that IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir block the planned promotion of the battalion commander involved in the deadly incident.

The officer, Lt. Col. “Daled,” who commanded the Bislamach Brigade’s 17th Battalion at the time, was included on a list of appointments made by Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan on Friday.

According to the IDF’s probe of the incident, on December 15, 2023, during “intense fighting” in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, a soldier with the 17th Battalion opened fire at three figures he had wrongly identified as a threat, killing two, while the third fled to a nearby building.

Commanders at the scene called on the soldiers to cease their fire in order for the third figure to be identified. Some 15 minutes later, the battalion commander heard someone shouting from the building, “Help,” and “They are shooting at me” in Hebrew, and again ordered troops to halt their fire, while shouting back at the figure: “Come my way.”

The third man — later confirmed to be Haim — came out of the building toward the troops, but two soldiers who, according to the probe, had not heard the battalion commander’s order due to noise from a nearby tank, shot and killed the hostage.

“We are simply shaken… how can one give a promotion to a person? This commander heard shouting, and he was told that fluent Hebrew was being heard. He ordered to cease fire, but did not make sure that the last of the soldiers heard the order,” Haim’s mother, Iris, tells Ynet news.

“This commander did not approach me on his own initiative even once. We forced him to come and speak with us. And even then, he did not tell us the truth,” she says.

The IDF in response says that Lt. Col. “Daled,” over the past two years, “has led hundreds of soldiers under his command, serving as commander of two different battalions, under fire and while risking his life.”

“He is a principled, professional, and honest commander who works tirelessly and dedicates his life to the security of the State of Israel,” the army says.

The IDF adds that “the investigation in question concluded about two years ago, and its findings were presented to the families and to the public with transparency.”